Never underestimate the power of maturing.

I've thought and thought about what I wanted to write and tried to plan it out, but that doesn't seem natural to me. I wanted to share my story in order so it made sense. But the more I write in my journals, I always start off with what happened to make me feel like I needed to write. Sometimes my posts will go in order or they will be random like adding in a chocolate chip cookie recipe or a travel guide for when people come to the PNW.

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Recently my boyfriend and I moved to the state of Washington...2,790 miles away from Charlotte NC. (Congratulations babe on this accomplishment and Promotion!) The place we grew up. My boyfriend and I weren't born in Charlotte but we grew up down the road from each other...basically. We went to different high schools and met through a mutual friend. Once we started dating, life immediately took off for us. Within a year of dating we moved to Georgia (in 2016) for a previous job promotion that he earned. That move was my first move away from my mom. That move was only a 3-4 hour road trip down I-85 but that move prepared me for this move... East Coast to West Coast.

We went through A LOT when we moved to Georgia with work, a ROUGH situation we were in and my insecurities. I never felt like I was in a situation where I could truly TRUST the male figures in my life. When I met my boyfriend, I was completely damaged, from previous experiences (and situations that were happening at the time)…I had/have BAGGAGE! Moving to Georgia made me face the insecurities & emotions that I worked so hard to hide deep down or in the back of my mind. Thankfully my boyfriend is patient and stubborn at the same time. He took the time to understand what was behind the smile I learned to do when i didn't want to talk, he took the time to listen and learn why I am the way I am.

Georgia made me step beyond my comfort zone and helped re-build what was broken. I grew up, I got away from the thought of not being able to leave home. Something and someone was actually worth "leaving the nest", and that was the best decision I made! I started to learn how to cook, I started expressing myself more, I started to look for my birth family...again (that's defiantly going to be a series of blogs later on). I really became my own person and started thinking for myself, while dating someone who was helping me without even knowing it.

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Today, my mind has been racing thinking about everything I went through to get to this point. It prepared me...to move this far from home. It made me mature, it made me face my fears, it made me recognize my problems and work through them. If I would of been stubborn and ignored the signs of depression and abandonment...I would of had to say goodbye to a relationship that helped change me for the better. If I would of let my insecurities stop me from opening up, I would of never trusted a MAN again.

The things that I hated in life and wanted to be different, ended up changing my life for the better and helped learn to be thankful for the struggles!

Don't get me wrong, I have depression and I have been depressed since I moved to Washington but I have also gotten OUT OF DEPRESSION! I remembered everything I had to go through to get to this point. The point of being okay with being by myself, trusting my boyfriend while he's away on work, trusting other girls to respect him and his relationship, being able to go out by myself and not be afraid, most of all TRUSTING myself to know that I will be okay! Life is a CRAZY ride that no one can prepare you for, but at least life gives you experiences to help you grow!